Original subtitles

Ladies and gentlemen, young and old,

this may seem an unusual procedure,

speaking to you before the picture begins,

but we have an unusual subject - the story of the birth of freedom.

The story of Moses.

As many of you know, the Holy Bible omits some 30 years of Moses' life,

from the time he was a three-month-old baby

and was found in the bulrushes by Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh,

and adopted into the court of Egypt until he learned that he was Hebrew

and killed the Egyptian.

To fill in those missing years we turned to ancient historians

such as Philo and Josephus.

Philo wrote at the time that Jesus of Nazareth walked the Earth,

and Josephus wrote some 50 years later

and watched the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

These historians had access to documents long since destroyed

or perhaps lost, like the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The theme of this picture is whether men are to be ruled by God's law,

or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like Rameses.

Are men the property of the state

or are they free souls under God?

This same battle continues throughout the world today.

Our intention was not to create a story,

but to be worthy of the divinely inspired story

created 3,000 years ago.

The five books of Moses.

The story takes three hours and 39 minutes to unfold.

There will be an intermission.

Thank you for your attention.

And God said, "Let there be light."

And there was light.

And from this light God created life upon Earth.

And man was given dominion over all things upon this Earth,

and the power to choose between good and evil,

but each sought to do his own will

because he knew not the light of God's law.

Man took dominion over man.

The conquered were made to serve the conqueror.

The weak were made to serve the strong.

And freedom was gone from the world.

So did the Egyptians cause the children of Israel

to serve with rigour,

and their lives were made bitter with hard bondage

and their cry came up unto God and God heard them.

And cast into Egypt,

into the lowly hut of Amram and Yochabel, the seed of a man

upon whose mind and heart would be written

God's law and God's commandments.

One man to stand alone against an empire.

Divine one, last night our astrologers saw an evil star

enter into the house of Egypt.

Meaning war?

What nation would dare draw the sword against us?

The enemy to fear is in Egypt.

What?

The Hebrew slaves in the land of Goshen.

I number my enemies by their swords, not by their chains, High Priest.

Chains have been forged into swords before now.

There is a prophecy of a deliverer. The star proclaims his birth.

Then, let the Hebrews die.

Slaves are wealth, Commander.

The more slaves we have, the more bricks we make.

I would see fewer bricks made and fewer Hebrews in Goshen.

It is our eastern gate.

Since this deliverer is amongst their newborn,

only their newborn need die.

Every newborn Hebrew man child shall die.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

So speaks Rameses the First.

No! Oh...

Oh, no!

Please! Please! No!

God of Abraham, take my child into thy hands,

that he may live to thy service.

We have not even given him a name.

God will give him a name.

Follow it, Miriam. Watch it from the reeds.

See where the Lord will lead him.

Yes, Mother.

- Why didn't you say no? - She didn't think of it.

Here! Throw!

- You're getting fat. - Too many sesame cakes!

Catch a lotus and you catch a wish.

What will you wish for, gold or a man?

Gold, of course.

- That'll get any man! - It won't fill an empty heart.

Quiet, you chattering geese.

Memnet, you're only happy when you're miserable.

You fools! Talk of empty hearts before the Pharaoh's daughter.

What is there in her heart but the memory of a dead husband?

Look, there's something here!

Be sure it's not a crocodile!

Bithiah can charm tears from a crocodile.

What is it, Bithiah?

Only a drifting basket.

- Shall we come and help you get it? - Memnet, send the girls away.

Now see what you've done. Back to the palace, all of you.

- All of you. Musicians, too. - We wouldn't hurt Bithiah.

Bithiah's tired of you and so am I.

- You're tired of everything. - Go on. Off you go.

Go on. Hurry up! You've hurt her enough.

- What have you found? - The answer to my prayers.

You prayed for a basket?

No... I prayed for a son.

Your husband is in the house of the dead.

He has asked the Nile god to bring me this beautiful boy.

Do you know the pattern of this cloth?

If my son is covered in it...

it is royal robe.

Royal? It is the cloth of a Hebrew slave.

He was put upon the water to save him from your father's edict.

I am the Pharaoh's daughter and this is my son.

He shall be reared in my house as the Prince of the Two Lands.

My mother and her mother were branded to the Pharaoh's service.

I will not see a son of slaves made a prince of Egypt.

You WILL see it, Memnet.

You will see him walk with his head among the eagles.

You will serve him as you serve me.

Fill the ark with water. Sink it into silence.

Raise your hands, Memnet.

What you have buried in the Nile shall remain buried in your heart.

- Swear it. - I will be silent.

The day you break that oath will be the last your eyes shall ever see.

You will be the glory of Egypt, my son.

Mighty in words and deeds. Kings shall bow before you.

Your name will live when the pyramids are dust.

And...

because I drew you from the water, you shall be called Moses.

He proclaims his coming from afar, does he not, my son?

Such favour with the people can be dangerous, Great Sethi.

To whom, Rameses? To me or to you?

Fame can turn a prince against his Pharaoh.

Envy can turn a brother against his brother.

Envy is for the weak.

Beauty is for the strong. That is what you have in mind.

If you mean Nefretiri, yes, my father.

Is it her beauty that attracts you

or the fact that she must marry the man I choose to succeed me?

I am the son of your body.

Who else could be your heir?

The man best able to rule Egypt will follow me.

I owe that to my fathers... not to my sons.

- Then I shall follow you. - Shall you?

Do not let ambition shave your prince's lock.

I sent Moses to destroy a city. He returns in triumph.

I sent you to build a city. Where is it?

It will rise when I have put fear into the Hebrew slaves who build it.

But this I know, my father...

no pretended brother will ever have your crown...

or Nefretiri.

Indeed?

Whoever I choose shall have my crown...

AND Nefretiri.

I think I see him, Memnet.

Yes, I can see him!

Listen, Memnet. Listen.

The trumpets tell all the world he's come back to me.

Hear them.

And all those shouts are drowned by the beating of my heart.

Do you hear, Memnet? A whole city calls his name.

I hear them, Nefretiri.

The Lord Moses, Prince of Egypt, son of the Pharaoh's sister,

beloved of the Nile god, commander of the Southern Host.

Welcome home!

Prince Moses!

Blessings be upon you. He has brought down the pride of Ethiopia.

The old windbag!

- I agree with him. - May your name be exalted on Earth,

even as the sun is exalted in the heavens.

Welcome to my sister's son. We have heard how you took ibis from the Nile

to kill venomous serpents when you laid siege to the city of Sabba.

May my arms stay strong in your service.

Who is this fair young god come into the house of Pharaoh?

No need to tell you how I share her joy at your return.

No need, my brother.

Great one, I bring you Ethiopia!

Command them to kneel before Pharaoh.

Command what YOU have conquered.

I bring the Ethiopian king and his sister in friendship,

as an ally to guard our southern gates.

My son has dealt wisely with you, Ethiopia. Welcome as a friend.

Great king, I will ask but one favour of your friendship.

This green stone from our mountains...

that I may give it to your Prince of Egypt...for he is kind...

as well as wise.

It is pleasing to the gods to see a man honoured by his enemies.

And such a beautiful enemy!

See to their comfort.

Divine one, here is the full count of Ethiopia's tribute.

Bearers!

I am sending down the Nile 20 barges of such wealth as you see here.

Logs of ebony and trees of myrrh, all for your new treasure city.

A handsome tribute indeed, Moses.

- But I have no new treasure city. - And you will have none.

The slaves die rather than bend their backs in your service.

Why?

They believe a deliverer has come to lead them from their bondage.

Deliverer?!

He has been foretold since my father's time.

Now you make him an excuse for your failure.

I do not make excuses.

If you doubt me, let Moses build a city.

No! No. He's just trying to keep Moses away from you, Sethi.

Or you, perhaps.

I think our roosters would crow more softly on another roof.

Stand before me, both of you.

Would you please your Pharaoh, Moses?

- Your wish is my will. - Then you build my city.

A wise decision. A noble task.

Rameses, do you believe this slave deliverer is a myth?

What I believe is of no account.

What matters is the slaves believe in him.

Of course, of course.

Then you, too, shall go to Goshen.

Learn if this deliverer be a myth or a man.

If a myth, bring him in a bottle. If a man, bring him to me in chains.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

Your fragrance is like the wine of Babylon.

I could...

But you are the throne princess and by the Pharaoh's law,

you can marry only a Pharaoh.

I SHALL marry a Pharaoh...

you.

Rameses might not like that idea.

Sethi might. When you were gone, I kept your name on his lips.

But unless you succeed, you'll be prince of some province

and I'll be Rameses' wife.

Build a city for him and Sethi will deny you nothing.

I will build the city for love of Sethi, not the throne of Egypt.

But I am Egypt.

Now the flame you lighted burns close to the throne.

Your tongue would dig your grave, Memnet.

A conqueror already conquered?

The first face I looked for and the last I find. Mother.

I was thanking the gods for your safe return.

But I find you in grave danger here.

Intoxicating danger, Mother.

Marry her if you can, my son, but never fall in love with her.

I'll be less trouble than the Hebrews of Goshen.

You've guzzled enough. Bring those bricks up and get on.

You, there's other swine to water.

Get those bricks back on.

- Here! Waterlily! - My name is Lilia.

To me you are a lily and I want water.

Joshua...

Joshua, I thought you'd never come down.

Water before love, my girl.

Does it take the whole Nile to quench your thirst?

No, just your lips.

Careful, my love. Dathan's eyes can see through stone.

Dathan is a vulture feeding on the flesh of his own people.

When he looks at me, I'm afraid.

If he touches you, I'll strangle him.

And bring death to 1 ,000 others?

Is life in bondage better than death?

Joshua, we must have hope.

God will send us the deliverer.

Hope? On the heels of every hope walks Dathan.

You're Dathan, the Hebrew overseer.

CHIEF Hebrew overseer, mighty one.

Baka, the master builder, has told me that I can rely on you.

I am warmed by his favour.

Rely on you to sell your own mother for a price.

And who am I to deny the word of the master builder?

Where is this would-be deliverer who would set the Hebrews free?

Who can say, immortal prince?

They do not confide in me.

- But it is possible to learn. - No doubt.

You have rat's ears and a ferret's nose.

To use in your service, son of Pharaoh.

Add to them the eyes of a weasel and find me this deliverer.

Old woman! Old woman!

More grease under the centre stone.

- Yochabel! - Help me!

Stop the stone!

Keep pulling up there.

Yochabel is caught. Stop the stone!

- Pull! - You'll kill her! Stop the stone!

We don't stop a moving block for an old woman.

Lay on the lash! Keep it moving!

Stop the stone! Stop the stone!

Hold the ropes!

- Cut the old woman loose. - You'll die in a limepit.

- Joshua! - Run to the prince and beg mercy.

Mercy from Rameses?!

No, the Prince Moses, there on the pavilion.

After her! After her!

Stop her!

Stop that girl!

The water girl, stop her!

Stop her!

Mercy, Prince Moses!

- Mercy, Prince Moses! - Come here.

- Mercy? What have you done? - Not for myself, Lord Prince.

For a slave who saved Yochabel and me from death between the blocks.

A delicate flower to be pressed between stone blocks.

How were you saved?

- A stonecutter struck the overseer. - There can be one punishment.

Blood makes poor mortar. Come.

Prince Moses!

Get away, you!

Would you bury the old woman alive in a tomb of rock?

My noble one, it caught. I had not the strength to free myself.

Your shoulder should not bear a burden, old woman.

The Lord has renewed my strength and lightened my burdens.

He would have done better to remove them.

They use the old ones to grease the stones, Lord Prince.

If they are killed, it is no loss.

Are you a builder or a butcher?

If we stopped when a grease woman falls, the city would never rise.

The slaves must be driven.

Their work lags for lack of food.

- You seem strong. - I am a stonecutter.

- Pharoahs like their images deep. - Hold your whip!

You know it is death to strike an Egyptian?

I know it.

- Yet you struck him? - To save the woman.

- What is she to you? - An old woman.

Lord Prince, send him to his death.

The man has courage. You do not speak like a slave.

God made men. Men made slaves.

Which god?

The God of Abraham, the almighty God.

If he is almighty, why does he leave you in bondage?

He will choose the hour of our freedom and our deliverer.

- This man speaks treason. - It is not treason to want freedom.

Release him.

Difficulty with the slaves, my brother?

None that could not be cured by a ration of grain and a day of rest.

A day of rest?

When your horses tire, they're rested.

When they hunger, they're fed.

Slaves draw stone and brick. My horses draw the next Pharaoh.

- Is any grain stored in Goshen? - None that you would dare take.

The temple granaries are full.

Bring the push-pull men and some women with baskets.

I will...great prince.

I warn you, Moses, the temple grain belongs to the gods.

What the gods can digest will not sour in the belly of a slave.

You, back where you belong!

I have the prince's orders. Get 100 women with baskets.

Elisheba, bring your basket.

Push-pullers, follow me.

Out of the way!

Break open the bins.

Out of the way. Stand back.

A-ha!

Well, well.

- Divine one... - Hmm?

- There! - Oh!

- My jackals have your hounds at bay. - Dogs at bay are dangerous.

When they walk upright and feed on temple grain.

You don't like Moses, but the city's being built and I'm winning the game,

so don't interrupt us with trifles.

Before your city is finished these trifles will surprise you.

Life is full of surprises.

And today I have one for you, my kitten.

And Rameses.

You crocodile!

Triples. You've lost. I'll never let you win again.

Aha! You thought that by losing to me you would win for Moses.

Well, crowns can be lost by smiles and dimples.

- And so is patience. - Yours.

Are my jubilee plans complete?

All but your proclamation for the marriage of Rameses to Nefretiri.

No.

Are you sure it will be Rameses?

Who else could succeed you?

Moses, of course.

Because of Moses there is no wheat in the temple granaries.

You don't look any leaner.

- You're both generous with advice. - Will you take mine?

I will choose my own successor.

Did you lose your head, my sweet?

You were to bring me the head of the jackal who would free the slaves.

The slaves do not need a deliverer. They have Moses.

Is that a riddle?

He gives them the priest's grain and one day in seven to rest.

They call it the day of Moses.

- He makes himself a god. - I prefer him as a man.

You would prefer him as Pharaoh.

- Are you afraid of Moses? - Yes.

Ethiopia and Goshen are in his hands and you are in between them.

He would not raise the slaves against me. I've been his father.

Ambition knows no father.

Moses could no more betray you than I could.

He can tell me that when he arrives.

- He will not be here, my father. - What?

I sent for both of you.

His word is that he cannot attend you, being pressed by other matters.

Did you hear that? Other matters?

My escort.

I will ride with you, my son,

to see what rears itself in Goshen, a city or treason.

You lying adder! You'll destroy yourself with your own venom

if you try to turn Sethi against Moses.

You would turn Sethi against me.

Remember, my sweet, that you must be wife to the next Pharaoh,

that you're going to be mine, all mine, like my dog or my falcon.

Only I will love you more and trust you less.

You will never do the things to me you would have done to Moses.

I know you, my sweet.

You're a sharp-clawed, treacherous little peacock.

But you're food for the gods and I'm going to have all of you.

None of me. Did you think my kiss was a promise of what you'll have?

No, my pompous one, it was to let you know what you will NOT have.

I could NEVER love you.

Does that matter?

You will be my wife.

You will come to me whenever I call you.

And I will enjoy that very much.

Whether you enjoy it or not is your own affair.

But I think you will.

That drop puts too much strain on the stone. We need more sand.

I'll risk it, Baka. There's little time till the day of jubilee.

If the stone cracks, you may crack with it.

Ready blue signal.

Blue pennant.

Blue pennant!

- The snubber is ready. - Green pennant.

Mallet men, ready!

Mallet men, stand by! Clear the main hawser!

Mallet men ready.

You are not pleased to see me here.

I am, Great Pharaoh, but now I have important things to do.

Red pennant, stand by.

So Rameses tells me.

More important things than obeying my orders.

You ordered me to finish this city. That stone must be moved.

Red pennant.

Red pennant...strike!

- The stone will break. - 2,000 slaves are on the ropes.

There is the obelisk of your jubilee.

Baka, put 1 ,000 slaves to removing the sand

until the stone settles to its base.

Pharaoh is pleased?

With the obelisk, yes, but not with certain accusations made against you.

By whom?

- You raided the temple granaries. - Yes.

- You gave the grain to the slaves. - Yes.

You gave them one day in seven to rest.

Yes.

Did you do this to gain their favour?

A city is built of brick, Pharaoh.

The strong make many. The starving make few.

The dead make none.

So much for accusations.

Now judge the results.

The pylons commemorate your victory at Kadish

where you broke the Amorites.

- Are there any higher in Egypt? - There are none higher in the world.

With so many slaves, you could build...an army.

But I HAVE built a city.

16 of these lions of Pharaoh will guard its gates.

It shall be the city of Sethi's glory.

Hmm.

Are these slaves loyal to Sethi's glory or to you, Moses?

The slaves worship their god...

and I serve only you.

Let your own image proclaim my loyalty for a thousand years.

Superb!

And this you call treason?

Who would take a throne by force that he has earned by deeds?

With this and Ethiopia,

your name shall be carved beside mine on every pylon.

Yours, Rameses, will be nowhere.

In my judgement book, you have accused your brother falsely.

Come.

Great Pharaoh, he is the son of your body.

I need no help, Moses, to hold what is mine.

I decide what is yours.

Come with me, Moses.

Will you lose the throne because Moses builds a city?

The city that he builds shall bear my name.

The woman that he loves shall bear my child.

So it shall be written. So it shall be done.

Yes. This is for the temple ceremony.

This...

Ah, this!

This for my wedding night.

You will never wear it.

Why not?

I have brought you a cloth more revealing. Send them away.

Go, then, while I hear what this puckered old persimmon has to say.

Well? What croakings of doom have you today?

You prepare for a marriage that will never be.

You've been drinking honey wine!

I shall not let the Pharaoh and Rameses be betrayed.

Why should a slave care which Pharaoh rules?

For 30 years, I have been silent.

Now all the kings of Egypt cry out to me from their tombs,

"Let no Hebrew sit upon our throne."

What are you saying?

Rameses has the blood of many kings.

- And Moses. - He is lower than the dust.

Not one drop of royal blood flows through his veins.

He is the son of Hebrew slaves.

I'll have you torn into so many pieces,

even the vultures won't find them.

Who hatched this lie? Rameses?

Rameses does not know...yet.

You will repeat this to Bithiah!

Bithiah drew a slave child from the Nile,

called him son and Prince of Egypt,

blinding herself to the truth and the pain of an empty womb.

Were you two alone?

A little girl led me to the Hebrew woman Yochabel

that the child might be suckled by his true mother.

Take care, old frog.

You croak too much against Moses.

Would you mingle the blood of slaves with your own?

He will be my husband. I shall have no other.

Use this to wrap your first-born.

Torn from a Levite's robe.

It was Moses' swaddling cloth.

And your shroud!

You think I care whose son he is?

- Rameses does. - You won't live to tell him.

Nefretiri! Have you closed your doors to make a beggar of a prince?

I'm the beggar, Moses, begging you to hold me in your arms. Kiss me.

You're no beggar, my love.

You're a conqueror and I am your captive for life.

One lifetime will not be half enough.

You will be King of Egypt.

And I will be your footstool.

A man stupid enough to use you for a footstool

would not be wise enough to rule Egypt.

Princess! Ravens have dropped a black feather at your door.

- Who can...? - Leave the world outside.

Pardon, pardon, royal one.

- The old nurse, Memnet... - I don't want to hear anything.

What about Memnet?

She's dead. She must have fallen from the balcony.

I will not hear unhappy things tonight. Go away!

Old Memnet must have walked that balcony a thousand times.

What is the death of one slave to us?

She was a faithful servant to you.

Can one so rich in love be so poor in pity?

What kind of a woman holds me captive?

One who loves you and will not lose you.

One who will be your wife. Nothing in the world can change that.

Neither Rameses' princely plots nor Memnet's evil lies.

Memnet has always grumbled. Why should it upset you now?

Because she grumbled against you.

Oh, let her threats be buried with her.

Look... The night's a crown of stars,

and the darkness a robe of forgetfulness.

Let's share them. We'll use the moon for a sceptre.

- A piece of Hebrew cloth! - Memnet may have dropped it.

Memnet was not Hebrew. Why would she have this?

- I don't know. - Yes, you do.

Tell me.

She was taking it to Rameses...

- to destroy you. - To de...?

How could Rameses destroy me with a piece of cloth?

Moses, why do you question me? Why do you care? Yes!

I killed her. What does it matter? A hundred slaves die every day.

- It's forgotten. - It is not.

- What is this to do with me? - It makes no difference to us.

How could it make a difference?

A child was wrapped in it.

- What child? - Bithiah took him from the river.

Memnet was with her.

Who was this child?

Memnet is dead. No one need know who you are. I love you.

I'll kill anyone who comes between us.

Why did you kill for me? lf you love me, do not lie. Who was the child?

Hold me in your arms.

Hold me...close.

You were not born Prince of Egypt, Moses...

but the son of Hebrew slaves.

You believe that?

I'll believe anything you want me to believe.

Say you are not, I'll believe you are not.

Love cannot drown truth, Nefretiri.

You do believe it or you would not have killed Memnet.

I love you. That's the only truth I know.

Did this child of the Nile have a mother?

Memnet called her Yochabel.

I will ask Bithiah.

How could you doubt me?

You did not doubt me when I held you as you took your first step.

It's a wicked lie spun by Rameses.

Mother, did Rameses spin this?

The word of your mother against a cloth found by Memnet?

How did you know it was Memnet?

Who else? Memnet nursed Rameses.

She shall pay for spreading his lies.

- She has paid. - She's dead?

At the hand of Nefretiri.

Put away any fears or suspicions that may remain with you, my son.

Why, your will will be law in Egypt when you are crowned as her king.

Memnet spoke of a Hebrew woman named Yochabel.

Did you ever know her?

No.

Yours was the face I saw above my cradle,

the only mother I've ever known.

Wherever I am led or whatever I must do,

I will always love you.

My chariot. I will drive to Goshen.

A chariot here in Goshen?

- You know who I am? - It has been many years, great one.

Who are they?

All that remain of my children.

I will speak to you alone.

Why have you...?

- Why have you come here? - Because Moses will come here.

My son?

No, MY son. And that's all that he must know.

My lips might deny him, great one, but my eyes never could.

You shall leave Goshen tonight.

We are Levites, shepherds of Israel. We cannot leave our people.

Would you take from Moses all that I have given him?

Would you undo all that I have done?

I have put the throne of Egypt within his reach.

- What can you give him? - I gave him life.

I gave him love! Was it your hand that dried his tears?

Was it your heart that ached for him?

Yes. My heart ached for him.

My arms ached to hold him,

but I dared not even touch the hem of his garment.

His heritage from me could only have been misery, poverty and the lash.

No, I will not take from him the glory and riches you have given him.

For this you shall be well cared for.

You and your family shall be taken from Goshen tonight.

No matter where you send me...

if the God of Abraham has a purpose for my son,

he will come to know it and fulfil it.

Come, gather your things. I shall see you want for nothing.

You and your children shall be given freedom.

Has my mother forgotten? Only the Pharaoh can free a slave.

- Do not enter. There is sorrow here. - Are you comforting it, my mother?

I followed you here to find this woman, Yochabel...

You are the woman who was caught between the stones.

- Until you came. - My son, if you love me...

I love you, my mother, but am I your son?

Or yours?

No, you are not my son.

If you believe that men and women are cattle to be driven under the lash,

if you can bow before idols of stone and golden images of beasts...

you are not my son.

My son would be a slave...

His hands would be gnarled and broken from the brick pits,

his back scarred from the taskmaster's whip,

but in his heart would burn the spirit of the living God.

Are a scarred back and broken hands the price of this god's favour?

This god is the hope of the hopeless. YOUR place is in the palace halls.

You have mounted to the sun on golden wings.

You belong to me, to Nefretiri, to Sethi. We love you.

Do they love less who have no hope?

Will you swear in the name of this god that you are not my mother?

We do not even know his name.

Then look into my eyes and tell me you are not my mother.

Oh, Moses, Moses, I cannot, I cannot.

I am your brother Aaron.

I am Miriam, your sister.

- I am your brother Moses. - No! Get ready to leave. Hurry!

They're going. The secret's going with them.

- No one need know the shame. - Shame?

What change is there in me?

Egyptian or Hebrew, I am still Moses.

These are the same hands, the same arms,

the same face that were mine a moment ago.

A moment ago, you were her son, the strength of Egypt.

Now you are mine, a slave of Egypt. You find no shame in this?

There is no shame in me. How can I feel shame for the woman who bore me?

- Or the race that bred me? - God of my fathers.

Moses, what will you do?

This is the binding tie...

and here I will stay.

- Moses... - To find the meaning of what I am.

Why a Hebrew...or any man, must be a slave.

Put back your things. You are not leaving.

Has she done more for you than l?

Will the life she gave you be more useful in the black pits of slavery?

Cannot justice and truth be served better upon a throne

where all men may benefit from your goodness...and strength?

I do not know what power shapes my way,

but my feet are set upon a road that I must follow.

Forgive me, Bithiah.

God of our fathers, who has appointed an end to the bondage of Israel,

blessed am I among all mothers in the land...

for my eyes have beheld thy deliverer.

Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn,

making straw for the bricks of Egypt,

nor spare the arms that endlessly winnow the grain in the wind

to separate the wheat from the chaff,

wheat borne stolidly on the backs of countless slaves

from the heavy-laden Nile boats to the teeming shore.

Endlessly they plod beneath the sheaves of wheat

and endlessly return for more.

A golden harvest to the threshers,

a grain safe to feed the masters, bitterness to feed the slaves,

and to feed the brick pits, straw, carried on the bowed backs of women

down into the never-ending valley of toil and agony,

stretching mile after mile.

An inferno of mud-soaked bodies,

where the treaders' feet churn clay and straw

into the mixture for the Pharaoh's bricks.

And everywhere the lash of watchful taskmasters

ready to sting the backs of the weary.

Blades chopping straw.

Mattocks chopping clay.

A ceaseless cycle of unending drudgery.

From the mixing feet of treaders

to the pouring hands of brick moulders

moves the constant stream of mud, the lowly seed of tall cities,

day after day, year after year, century after century.

Bondage without rest, toil without reward.

These are the children of misery,

the afflicted, the hopeless, the oppressed.

And he went out unto his brethren and looked on their burdens.

Water...girl!

Dear, here's water.

That's a hard dance you do, old man.

We've been dancing it for 400 years.

It's a grim music.

And the only deliverer that has come to us is death.

Back to work, you braying mules.

You're strange to the pits.

Your back is unscarred.

You bring a warm smile with your cool water.

My smile is for a stonecutter.

- The water is for you. - I thank you.

Your voice is not strange.

- You are...? - One of many who thirst.

You there!

Come here.

That is Baka, the master builder.

- Does he call me or you? - You! Water girl! I'm thirsty.

He does not thirst for water.

Beauty is but a curse to our women.

- Water, noble one. - I'll have wine, the wine of beauty.

What beauty can my lord find in these mud pits?

The lotus flower blooms in the Nile's grey mud.

- She will do well as a house slave. - Do not take me from my people!

There would be danger.

Danger from such lovely hands?

There are other hands, strong enough to kill.

Our mud flower has a thorn.

Oh, please, Lord Baka, I beg you.

Tears...

When you have been bathed in scented water,

when your limbs have been caressed by sweet oils

and your hair combed with sandalwood,

there will be no time for tears.

She is not worthy of you. Let my eyes...

Your eyes had best find the deliverer, Dathan. Bring the girl.

May the hand of God strike him.

Dance, you mud turtles, dance!

You rot our bodies, steal hope from our souls.

Must you also shame and defile our women?

Dance you squealing goat!

We are not animals, we are men, made in the image of God.

This will change your image.

Dance, you.

Get that straw cutter.

Leave him or you'll be murdered with him.

I'll not leave a man to die in the mud.

Thank you, my son.

But death is better than bondage,

for my days are ended and my prayer unanswered.

What prayer, old man?

That before death closed my eyes I might behold the deliverer

who will lead all men to freedom.

What deliverer could break the power of Pharaoh?

You, mud-carriers, throw this carrion to the vultures.

You, take his place.

And dance the straw into the mud, you dogs.

Stand aside, you. Make way.

Clear a path.

Come on, get back. Out of the way!

I need another oarsman for my barge, a strong slave.

- Your word is our will. - The large one there.

You!

No, not that one. The very dirty one there.

Yes, that one. He may serve my purpose.

You!

YOU!

Out of the pit!

Out of the way! Back to work!

Clear a path!

Back to work!

First friend of the Pharaoh, keeper of the royal seal,

Prince of Memphis, Prince of Thebes,

beloved of the Nile god, conqueror of Ethiopia,

general of generals,

commander of the Egyptian Host,

and man of mud!

Is that what you want? To be a slave?

Then why aren't you kneeling at the feet of a princess?

I'm afraid the mud pits have stiffened my knees, royal one.

Shall I call back the guards?

- Do you think they could bend them? - Oh, Moses! Moses!

You stubborn, splendid, adorable fool.

I'm not kneeling to a princess.

No. You are kneeling to a woman

who's been worried about you day and night since you disappeared.

What is there in the mud pits that could keep you from my arms?

My people.

Do you have to wallow with your people? Smell like them?

If they are stained, it's with the mud of slavery.

If they reek, it's with the stench of injustice.

- Come back to the palace. - And hide the truth from Sethi?

That I am Hebrew and a slave.

The truth would break his dear old heart

and send Bithiah into exile or death.

Stop hearing the cries of your people.

Their god does not hear their cry.

Will Rameses hear it if he is Pharaoh?

No. He would grind them into the clay they mould,

double their labours.

What about me? Think of me as his wife.

Do you want to see me in Rameses' arms?

No.

Then come back with me.

Oh, Moses! The gods have fashioned you for greatness.

The splendour of your name will last beyond the pyramids.

As Pharaoh, you can free your people, worship whatever gods you please,

so long as I can worship you.

I will come to you at the palace on the day of Sethi's jubilee.

Come with me now.

No, my love.

First I have a call to make on the master builder.

No, no, no, no, no.

Not red with the samil gown.

My eyes can best be used elsewhere, Lord Baka.

Before you go, let them look upon what you thought unworthy.

Who would let beauty such as this go unseen?

Who would let such a flower go ungathered?

Dathan, you can see only mud, so pick up her muddy clothes and go.

Go, all of you.

Did you know that this golden web was spun from the beards of shellfish?

- Please let me go to my home. - You ARE at home.

Here, taste this.

The blood of Thracian grapes, the wine of love.

No wine can change my love.

Then your love shall be my wine.

There's fire in the chariot house!

The chariot house.

Guards! Guards! Take water to the roof.

Dathan, take charge. Guards, after him.

Pull it out of the shed.

Take it clear of the house.

No, your wings must not be singed, at least not by that fire.

- Joshua! - Run! The way is clear.

The master builder will not follow.

Neither will you, stonecutter.

Bind him between the columns.

See that his arms are tightly stretched.

You will die on your feet, stonecutter.

Now go after the girl.

And don't come back without her.

You foolish, stupid man!

I would have kept her only a short while.

She would have returned to you - shall we say - more worthy.

Now to whom shall I return Lilia?

You will not be there, Joshua.

You've seen me drive my chariot.

I can flick a fly from my horse's ear without breaking his stride.

You've seen me use my whip.

You make no outcry, Joshua.

But you will.

You will cry for the mercy of death.

One day you will listen to the cry of slaves.

This is not that day, Joshua.

You hold your tongue almost as well as I hold my temper.

It's a pity to kill so strong a stonecutter.

- Death will bring death, Baka. - Who are you?

One who asks what right you have to kill.

The right of a master to kill any slave.

- Kill ME, master butcher! - Moses!

Why have you done this?

- Where is Lilia? - Gone.

Why are you dressed as a slave?

Why does a prince of Egypt kill the master builder to save a Hebrew?

I am Hebrew.

God of Abraham. Four hundred years we've waited.

The Pharaoh's soldiers won't wait so long.

The Almighty has heard our cries.

You are the chosen one.

- I know nothing of your god. - He knows YOU.

He has brought you to us. You cannot turn your back upon us.

You will deliver us. The finger of God points the way to YOU.

- Where was his body found? - Buried in the sand, royal one.

This is Baka's knife.

There was no wound on the body.

Baka was a powerful man. It would take strong hands to break him.

The slave, Joshua, is a stonecutter.

Go find me this Joshua.

Joshua's strength didn't kill the master builder.

Now speaks the rat that would be my ears.

Too many ears tie a rat's tongue.

Go. All of you.

Well? Who killed him?

I am a poor man, generous one. What I bring is worth much.

I have paid you much and you have brought nothing.

Now I bring the world... true son of Pharaoh.

You offer me the world when you cannot even bring me the deliverer.

Who killed Baka?

- The deliverer. - Would you play at words with me?

No, lord prince.

This murderer has now fled to some distant land?

No, lord prince.

Name him!

One who made himself a prince and judge over us.

If he knew I were here, he would kill me.

I will hang you myself if you tire me further.

There are those who would pay much for what my eyes have seen.

You haggle with me like in a marketplace?

No, I will not haggle. Here's your money.

But for ten talents of fine gold, I'll give you the wealth of Egypt.

Give me my freedom and I'll give you the sceptre.

Give me Lilia and I'll give you the princess of your heart's desire.

Give me this house and I'll give you the throne.

Give me all that I ask...

or give me leave to go.

I will give you more than leave to go.

I will send you where you belong.

I belong in your service, glorious one.

Very well.

I WILL bargain with you.

If what you say pleases me, I will give you your price.

If not, I will give you the point of this blade! Agreed?

Agreed.

The deliverer...

is Moses.

Draw one more breath to tell me why Moses or any other Egyptian

would deliver the Hebrews?

Moses is not Egyptian.

He's Hebrew.

The son of slaves.

I will pay your price.

I am told, my tiger lily, they're wagering against me.

- Two golden deber against one. - Yes. I wagered five myself!

You'll lose if Moses keeps me waiting any longer.

I double the wager. I'll watch for Moses, you watch the dance!

While you wait to honour Moses, I will honour Sethi's jubilee...

with a gift.

Strange gift.

You said if the deliverer were a myth,

- to bring him in a bottle. - It is empty.

Yes. Because he is not a myth.

- You have found such a man? - Yes, Father.

In the midst of treachery and treason,

with the blood of your master builder on his hands.

Shall I summon him to Pharaoh's justice?

Summon him!

- Bring the Hebrew in. - Bring the Hebrew in.

Great Pharaoh,

I stand in the shadow of your justice.

Whose work is THIS?

I warned you of his treason.

- Treason? - Judge now if I spoke truly.

The evil star foretold him

as the destroyer of Egypt and deliverer of slaves.

It is not possible. A prince of Egypt!

He is not a prince of Egypt. He is not the son of your sister.

He is the son of Hebrew slaves.

Speak...

my son.

I am the son of Amram and Yochabel. Hebrew slaves.

My brother, it was I who deceived you, not Moses.

- He was only a child. - Leave me.

I shall not see your face again.

Come to me.

I do not care who you are or what you are,

but...

I want to hear from your own lips that you are not a traitor,

that you would not lead these people in revolt against me.

Tell me, Moses. I will believe you.

I am not this deliverer you fear.

It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage.

It would take a god.

But if I COULD free them,

I would.

What has turned you against me?

From the time my sister brought you to the court, I loved you,

reared you, set you before my own son,

because I saw in you...

a worth and a greatness above other men.

No son could have more love for you than I.

Then why are you forcing me to destroy you?

What evil has done THIS to you?

The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of burden,

to slave and suffer in dumb anguish,

to be stripped of spirit and hope and faith,

only because they're of another race, another creed.

If there IS a God, he did not mean this to be so.

What I have done, I was compelled to do.

So be it.

What I do now...

I am compelled to do.

No! No!

Rameses...

Egypt shall be yours.

Hear what I say, Rameses.

When I cross the river of death, you will be Pharaoh in Egypt.

Harden yourself against subordinates.

Put no faith in a brother.

Have no friend.

Trust no woman.

I protected the helpless,

I nourished the orphan.

Great one!

He who ate my bread and called me Father...

would make rebellion against me.

What manner of death do you decree for him?

I cannot speak it.

Let it be as you will.

I will not live if you must die!

The feet of a Hebrew slave is not the right place

for the next queen of Egypt.

Take him away.

Do not look upon the traitor.

Let the name of Moses be stricken from every book and tablet.

Stricken from all pylons and obelisks.

Stricken from every monument of Egypt.

Let the name of...Moses...

be unheard and unspoken...

erased from the memory of men...

for all time.

No, Moses.

It is I who will possess all of her.

You think when you are in my arms it will be HIS face you will see?

Yes. Only his face.

I defeated you in life. You shall not defeat me by your death.

The dead are not scorched in the desert of desire.

They do not suffer from the thirst of passion

or stagger towards some mirage of lost love.

But you, Hebrew, will suffer all these things...

- by living. - You will let him live!

I will not make him a martyr.

No phantom will come between us in the night.

Yes, my sweet. I will let him live.

Dead...

you alone would possess him.

From where I send him there is no returning.

And you will never know

if he has found forgetfulness within another woman's arms.

Now, look upon each other for the last time.

Now look for the first time, Abiram, upon the governor of Goshen.

Dathan, my brother, you have the favour of the Lord.

I prefer the gratitude of the prince.

Nearer.

Yes. Very lovely.

Not that purplish flower.

The purity of white...

will cool the blush of your cheek.

Leave us. All of you. You, too, my brother.

Continue your playing... but in the house.

Yes. That's better.

A flower behind a flower.

Dathan, if you fear God, let me go.

I'm here, girl, because I put no trust

in a desert god and his mud-pit prophet.

I prospered because I bowed low before the Egyptians.

Now the Egyptians bow low before me.

Joshua wanted you.

Baka wanted you.

But you belong to ME.

A gift from Rameses to His Excellency.

I will bow before you, Dathan.

I will work my hands raw for you.

But please...

please do not shame me before my Lord.

Your Lord is the governor of Goshen.

What difference to my shame?

No difference to you.

But to a condemned slave like Joshua...

it could make the difference between death on the spikes

and life in the copper mines of Sinai.

What would you do to influence His Excellency's clemency?

Anything, Dathan.

Anything.

Joshua will always be grateful to you...

my little mud flower.

His fate is better than the one that waits for Moses.

The slave who would be king.

Captain. Robe of state.

His Hebrew mother brought it to the prison before she died.

I'd rather this for your armour.

You will have need of a sceptre.

Give me this binding pole.

Here is your king's sceptre

and here is your kingdom...

with the scorpion, the cobra and the lizard for subjects.

Free THEM, if you will. Leave the Hebrews to me.

Give this prince of Israel one day's ration of bread and water.

It will take many days to cross this wilderness, if he can cross at all.

I commend you to your Hebrew god who has no name.

If you die, it will be by his hand, not by mine.

Farewell, my one-time brother.

Into the blistering wilderness,

the man who walked with kings now walks alone.

Torn from the pinnacle of royal power,

stripped of all rank and earthly wealth,

a forsaken man without a country, without a hope.

His soul in turmoil, like the hot winds and raging sands

that lash him with the fury of a taskmaster's whip.

He is driven forward, always forward

by a god unknown

toward a land unseen.

Into the molten wilderness of sin,

where granite sentinels stand as towers of living death

to bar his way.

Each night brings the black embrace of loneliness.

In the mocking whisper of the wind

he hears the echoing voices of the dark.

His tortured mind wondering if they call the memory of past triumphs

or wail foreboding of disasters yet to come...

or whether the desert's hot breath has melted his reason into madness.

He cannot cool the burning kiss of thirst upon his lips,

nor shade the scorching fury of the sun.

All about is desolation.

He can neither bless nor curse the power that moves him,

for he does not know from where it comes.

Learning that it can be more terrible to live than to die,

he is driven onward through the burning crucible of desert,

where holy men and prophets are cleansed and purged

for God's great purpose.

Until, at last, at the end of human strength,

beaten into the dust from which he came,

the metal is ready for the Maker's hand.

And he found strength from a fruit-laden palm tree

and life-giving water, flowing from the well of Midian.

- If only sheep were men! - Unmarried men!

- Can you think of nothing else? - I don't know. I've never tried!

You needn't have painted your nails. There isn't a man from here to Horeb.

- What do you see, Sephora? - What are you looking at?

- A man. - What?

- Only one? - Is he handsome?

- Look at his sandals! - Egyptian!

- His robe is not Egyptian. - Who cares?

- He's eaten a whole bunch of dates! - Could it be dangerous?

- Are you sure he's alive? - I hope so!

Look. There's REAL trouble.

Amalekites.

- I'll talk to them. - Talk? Get stones!

- We drew this water! - Out of the way, girl!

This is the well of Jethro, our father. You have no right here!

Our goats don't know your father!

- Jethro's mark is on the well. - They can't read!

Nor can we!

- He's the Sheik of Midian! - Then let him breed sons!

Let them be first whose hands have drawn the water.

The stranger is wise...and strong.

Drive back your goats until the sheep are watered.

We should draw water for YOU and wash the dust from your feet.

Let me first remove his sandals!

Never did a lost sheep have so many shepherds.

- We have no towel. - My veil will serve.

Let me pour the water!

- Am I to be bathed or drowned? - I'll hold it!

Is it true that Egyptian girls paint their eyes?

Yes. But very few have eyes as beautiful as yours.

And who...? Who is the brave one who stood against the Amalekites?

That's Sephora. She's the oldest.

Since you have already divided the stranger among you,

I will ask a welcome for him.

- Our father is Jethro. - He's Sheik of Midian.

Strength to you, stranger.

I am Moses. Son of Amram and Yochabel.

Health, prosperity, life to you, Jethro of Midian.

Sephora has told me of your kindness.

Let us break bread while she brings meat.

You have come far.

- From Egypt. - Across the desert? On foot?

He who has no name surely guided your steps.

No name? You Bedouins know the god of Abraham?

Abraham is the father of many nations.

We are the children of lshmael, his first-born.

We are the obedient of God.

My people look to him for deliverance.

But they are still in bondage.

Tomorrow we go to the high pastures beneath God's holy mountain.

My tent would be favoured if you joined us.

I am a stranger in a strange land.

I have no wealth, no skill as a shepherd.

And it is...death to give sanctuary to a runaway slave.

Slave?

Not among our people. You have wisdom. You need nothing more.

And there are seven to teach you the tasks of a shepherd.

- Sephora is the eldest. - You can learn best from her.

I will dwell in this land.

- Today he sleeps. - Who sleeps?

He who has no name.

Did God live on this mountain?

Sinai is his high place. His temple.

If this god IS God,

he would live on every mountain, in every valley.

He would not be only the god of Israel or of lshmael alone,

but of ALL men.

It is said he created all men in his image.

And he would dwell in every heart, in every mind...

in every soul.

I do not know about such things.

But I DO know that the mountain rumbles when God is there.

And the earth trembles and the cloud is red with fire.

At such a time, has any man ever gone to see him face to face?

No man has ever set foot on the forbidden slopes of Sinai.

Why do you want to see him, Moses?

To know that he is.

And if he is, to know why he has not heard the cries of slaves.

Moses, it would be death to look upon his face.

How many of my people have died because he turned away his face?

Can a man judge God?

No, Moses. We cannot see his whole purpose.

Even lshmael did not know that God drove him into the desert

to be the father of a nation.

Is it not enough to know that he has saved you from the Pharaoh's anger?

How do you know that?

You walk like a prince. And you fight like a warrior.

There is word in the caravans of a great one

who was driven out of Egypt.

This is not the sceptre of a prince...

but the staff of a wanderer.

Then rest from wandering.

My father has many flocks

and no son to tend them.

There would be peace of spirit for you, Moses,

in our tents beneath the holy mountain.

You have strong faith in this God.

But, for me, there is no peace of spirit

until I hear the word of God...

from God himself.

I wish every day was a shearing festival!

And all the men following you like sheep to be sheared!

- One would be enough! - If he were Moses!

Never before has our wool brought so rich a payment.

Moses has sold the whole shearing of all the tribes in one piece.

His words are truth. His trading is just.

Peace be with you, sheiks of Sinai.

Why are you dressed like that?

Aren't you dancing with us before the sheiks?

No, I am not going to dance before the sheiks. Here.

And I am not going to be displayed like a caravan's wares

before Moses or any other man.

Tonight I tend the sheep.

You needn't laugh. Moses may not choose YOU either!

Moses shall no longer be a stranger among us.

- Give him of our flocks. - And let him choose.

I shall give him choice of my seven daughters for wife.

The shadow of my wisdom has fled.

Can a man choose from among the stars of the sky?

Consider them as they dance. Cohab, strike a bow.

- A pleasant task. - Indeed!

A bride, a shawl. Choose one, not all.

One shawl, one wife. Your choice for life.

One is a great price.

- Which, Moses? - Which will it be?

Make your choice, Moses.

It is a garden of many flowers.

I wish you had my years and I had your choice.

In the tent of Jethro there is dignity, honour, freedom...

and beauty.

All that a man could ask of life.

But my heart is still a prisoner of the past.

I...I cannot choose now.

- Strength to you, sheiks of Sinai. - May God guide your heart.

Moses...!

Tonight he is awake.

Which of my sisters did you choose?

I made no choice, Sephora.

She was very beautiful, wasn't she?

This woman of Egypt who left her scar upon your heart.

Whose skin was white as curd.

Her eyes, green as the cedars of Lebanon.

Her lips, tamarisk honey.

Like the breast of a dove, her arms were soft.

And the wine of desire was in her veins.

Yes. She was beautiful...

as a jewel.

A jewel has brilliant fire... but gives no warmth.

Our hands are not so soft but they can serve.

Our bodies not so white, but they are strong.

Our lips are not perfumed...

but they speak the truth.

Love is not an art to us.

It's life to us.

We are not dressed in gold and fine linen.

Strength and honour are our clothing.

Our tents are not the columned halls of Egypt...

but our children play happily before them.

We can offer you little...

but we offer all we have.

I have not little, Sephora. I have nothing.

Nothing from some is more than gold from others.

You would fill the emptiness of my heart.

I could never fill all of it, Moses.

But I shall not be jealous of a memory.

May the gods bless you

as you go to join them in the land of the dead.

The old windbag.

What an infernal fuss.

After all, dying is only a part of living.

You won't die, old crocodile.

You'll cheat death the way you cheat me at hounds and jackals.

I'm afraid he won't let me cheat the way you do.

You'll be Pharaoh by sunset, Rameses.

I hope you're content...at last.

I am content to be your son.

You have restored Egypt to her greatness.

I shall make her greatness feared among nations.

No doubt, no doubt. You can overcome anything...

but your own arrogance.

Don't exhaust yourself, great one.

Dear great one.

Why not, kitten?

You are the only thing I regret leaving.

You have been my joy.

And you, my only love.

Uh-huh.

Now YOU'RE cheating.

- There was another. - Yes.

I know.

I loved him, too.

With my last breath, I'll break my own law

and speak the name of...

Moses.

The royal falcon has flown into the sun.

Did the little boy die in the desert, my father?

No. God brought lshmael and his mother, Hagar, to a good land.

The same God who lives on the mountain?

It may be, my son.

Your mother is calling.

Here!

Moses! There is a man among the sheep!

You stay...

Keep sounding the alarm. Stay here till your mother comes.

In the cleft, behind the rock.

Your eyes are sharp as well as beautiful.

Tokar!

Setaft! Back!

Setaft, back!

Come down!

Down, Tokar!

Praise God I have found you!

Joshua?

We thought you dead.

In the copper mines, the living ARE dead.

Sephora! Bring water.

How did you find me?

A merchant buying copper saw you in the tent of Jethro.

Here, you too will find peace.

Peace?

How can you find peace or want it,

when Rameses builds cities mortared with the blood of our people?

You must lead them out of Egypt!

God made a covenant with Abraham that HE would deliver the people.

Am I the hand of God?

- Sephora, give him water. - Water! Bless you!

The desert sun has set fire to his mind.

His name is Joshua.

I once killed that he might live.

They said you were condemned but I knew you were chosen

to take the sword of God into your hand!

I am not the man.

I am a shepherd with flocks...

That light on the mountainside...

Do you see that strange fire?

- A bush that burns? - No.

It is on fire but the bush does not burn.

Sephora, take him. Serve him food in our tent.

I will turn aside and see this great sight.

I am here.

Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.

For the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

I am the God of thy father.

The God of Abraham,

the God of lsaac and the God of Jacob.

Lord...

Lord, why do you not hear the cries

of their children in the bondage of Egypt?

I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt.

And I have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters.

For I know their sorrows.

Therefore, I will send thee, Moses, unto Pharaoh,

that thou mayest bring my people out of Egypt.

Who am l, Lord, that you should send me?

How can I lead this people out of bondage?

What words can I speak that they will heed?

I will teach thee what thou wilt say.

When thou hast brought forth the people,

they shall serve me upon this mountain.

I will put my laws into their hearts.

And in their minds will I write them.

Now, therefore, go.

And I will be with thee.

But if I say to your children

that the God of their fathers has sent me,

they will ask, "What is his name?"

And how shall I answer them?

I am that I am.

Thou shalt say, "I AM hath sent me on to you.

Is the holy mountain forbidden to men?

Yes. And I am afraid for him.

Then he is more than man, for look...

Look at his face.

He has seen God.

Moses...your hair...your sandals.

I stood upon holy ground.

Can you tell us, Moses?

My eyes could not look upon him.

Did he speak?

He revealed his word to my mind.

And the word was God.

Did he speak as a man?

He is not flesh but spirit.

The light of eternal mind.

And I know that his light is in every man.

Did he ask something of you?

That I go to Egypt.

You ARE God's messenger! He has set the day of deliverance.

I will get water and bread that we may leave at once.

But Egypt holds death for you.

If it be his will.

Where he sends you, I shall go.

Your God is my God.

I will lead men against the armoury and get swords!

It is not by the sword that he will deliver his people,

but by the staff of a shepherd.

And the Lord said unto Moses,

"Go. Return into Egypt."

And Moses took his wife and his son

and he returned to the land of Egypt.

And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

Let the ambassador from Priam, king of Troy, approach the Pharaoh.

Great Pharaoh, the gift of Troy is a fabulous fabric

from the land of the five rivers.

Our thanks to Priam. It is fabulous indeed.

- It shimmers like the Nile. - How is it made?

No one knows. It is spun on the looms of the gods.

They call it silk.

The ambassador from Jericho.

What kingdom has sent you?

The kingdom of the Most High.

- What gifts do you bring? - We bring you the word of God.

What is this word?

Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel,

"Let my people go!"

The slaves are mine.

Their lives are mine. All that they own is mine.

I do not know your God,

nor will I let Israel go.

Who are you to make their lives bitter in bondage?

Men shall be ruled by law, not the will of other men.

Who is this God that I should let your people go?

Aaron.

Cast down my staff before Pharaoh

that he may see the power of God.

In this you shall know that the Lord is God.

Mother! He turned his staff into a cobra!

Nothing of HIS will harm you, my son.

The power of your God is a cheap magician's trick.

Jannes.

Mother, look!

Jannes, do you see?

Moses' serpent swallows up the others.

You gave me this staff to rule over scorpions and serpents,

but God made it a rod to rule over kings.

Hear his word, Rameses, and obey.

Obey?

Are there no magicians in Egypt

that you have come back to make serpents out of sticks?

Or cause rabbits to appear?

I will give your staff a greater wonder to perform.

Bear it before your idle people

and bid them make bricks without straw.

- How can that be done? - Let his staff provide them.

Or let them glean straw for themselves.

But their tally of bricks shall not diminish.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

Aaron. Aaron, when do we leave Egypt?

We do not leave Egypt.

But Moses promised us.

But you said we'd be freed!

I have brought more evil upon you.

God forgive my weak use of his strength.

Moses, what have you done to us?

It is Pharaoh's order that you be given no straw

to make your tally of bricks.

No straw?

How can we make bricks without straw?

You will glean the fields by night.

Your women and children, too.

Is this the deliverer?

You've brought the wrath of Pharaoh upon us!

You put a sword in their hands!

Stone him! Stone him!

Stand aside! Come!

Follow!

There goes your deliverer. Now go find your straw.

Remember the tally must be the same. Not one brick less.

I cursed you.

Each time Rameses took me in his arms I cursed you, not him,

because I love you.

The Moses who loved you was another man.

No, he was not.

You believe you've changed, but you haven't.

You call yourself a prophet, a man of God,

but I know better.

I don't believe only the thunder of a mountain stirs your heart,

as you stir mine.

Nefretiri, I have stood in the burning light of God's own presence.

It was not he who saved you just now. I did that.

Oh, Moses, Moses.

Why, of all men, did I fall in love with the prince of fools?

But I believe anything you tell me when I'm in your arms.

Why must you deny me and yourself?

Because I am bound to a God

and to a people and to a shepherd girl.

A shepherd girl? What can she be to you?

Unless the desert sun has dulled your senses.

Does she...grate garlic on her skin?

Or is it soft as mine?

Are her lips chafed and dry as the desert sand?

Or are they moist and red like a pomegranate?

Is it the fragrance of myrrh that scents her hair?

Or is it the odour of sheep?

There is a beauty beyond the senses, Nefretiri.

Beauty like the quiet of green valleys and still waters.

Beauty whose spirit you cannot understand.

Perhaps not.

But beauty of the spirit will not free your people, Moses.

YOU will come to me or THEY will never leave Egypt.

The fate of Israel is not in your hands, Nefretiri.

Oh, isn't it? Who else can soften Pharaoh's heart?

Or harden it?

Yes.

You may be the lovely dust

through which God will work his purpose.

Fill every jar with water.

For seven days there will be none to drink.

- But this well has never run dry. - And the river is high.

- Whose word is that? - One who knows.

So fill your jars or go thirsty.

- Miriam is always right. - Yes, I'm going back for more jars.

Yes, Joshua. She comes to the well every day.

Wait and you will see her.

It is wise of Dathan to send you to the well, Lilia,

or he might find his water poisoned.

They told me you were dead.

To all I love, Joshua, I am dead.

- Dathan? - Yes. Dathan.

Of your own free will?

Of my own free will.

You are no man's slave. The hour of deliverance has come.

Not for me, Joshua.

Hail to thee, great god of the Nile!

Thy waters are the blood of Egypt.

Hail to thee, maker of barley,

feeder of cattle, carrier of ships,

greatest of all the gods.

Pharaoh of Egypt! You have not yet obeyed the Lord.

Let my people go!

The point of the sword...

Let him rave that men shall know him mad.

Obey the Lord

or he will raise his hand against the waters of the river.

I have come to bless the waters, you have come to curse them.

We will learn if a shepherd god is stronger than the gods of Pharaoh.

Water of life, give drink to the desert

and make green the meadow.

Aaron.

Stretch out my staff against the waters.

Look!

Where he's touched the river, it bleeds.

The water turns to blood!

(Woman screams)

Blood flows from the god!

See how it spreads.

It IS blood!

That you may know the power of the Lord,

for seven days, Egypt will thirst.

- Seven days without water! - Pestilence will be everywhere!

Were it seven times seven days,

no magician's trick will set your people free.

Sacred water, make pure the flood from which you came.

And God smote the land with all manner of plagues,

but still Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

Great one, you hear the cry of Egypt.

They would cry louder if THEY had to make the bricks.

Send them away.

The people have been plagued by thirst,

by frogs, by lice, by flies.

They can endure no more.

Why do you bring this worker of evil before me?

The people desert the temples and turn from the gods.

What gods? You prophets and priests MADE the gods,

that you may prey upon the fears of men.

When the Nile ran red, I too was afraid...

until word came of a mountain beyond the cataracts

which spewed red mud and poisoned the water.

Was it the staff that caused this?

Was it the wonder of your god that fish died and frogs left the water?

Was it a miracle that flies and lice

should bloat upon their carrion and spread disease?

These things were ordered by themselves, not by any god!

Now go.

That you may know these things are done of God...

you shall see hail fall from a clear sky

and burn as fire upon the ground.

You shall see darkness cover Egypt

when the sun climbs high to noon.

And you shall know that God is God

and bow down to his will.

Nothing of this Earth can make me bow to you, Moses.

Behold, the hail comes.

When darkness has covered Egypt for three days,

your ministers will send for me.

In the three days of darkness,

you have whined like frightened children in the night.

Moses said the sun would shine in three days and it is true.

Let his people go,

or Egypt will be barren from the cataracts to the sea.

Will my father free the slaves?

Can taxes be collected from blighted harvests?

Does fear rule Egypt...or do l?

We fear no army of the Earth,

but can we fight plagues with swords?

There is no shame in this.

It is not Pharaoh who yields to the slave,

but his counsellors.

I have summoned Moses at your request.

People will bless you, great one.

Does the world bow to an empty throne?

Empty?

Does a Pharaoh harden his heart against his son?

If you let the Hebrews go, who will build HIS cities?

You told Moses to make bricks without straw.

Now HE tells YOU to make cities without bricks!

Who is the slave... and who is the Pharaoh?

Do you hear laughter, Rameses?

Yes, the laughter of kings

in Babylon, in Canaan,

in Troy...

as Egypt surrenders to the god of slaves!

Bring the Hebrew in.

Go into the garden. It's not good for a son of Pharaoh

to see his father humbled by a son of slaves.

My son, stand beside me.

Have the days of darkness made you see the light, Rameses?

Will you now free my people?

Great one, bid the scribe read the order.

Give me the writing.

You cannot resist the power of his god!

I know not his god! Neither will I let his people go.

How long will you refuse to humble yourself before God?

If you bring another plague upon us,

it is not your god but I

who will turn the Nile red with blood.

As your father's father did

with the blood of our male children!

If there is one more plague on Egypt,

it is by YOUR word that God will bring it.

And there shall be so great a cry throughout the land

that you will surely let the people go.

Come to me no more, Moses,

for on the day you see my face again,

you will surely die.

So let it be written.

I will give this spawn of slaves

and his god an answer the world will not forget!

Commander of the Host,

call on the chariots from Talis.

There SHALL be one more plague...

only it will come upon the slaves of Goshen!

First-born of each house shall die,

beginning with the son of Moses.

You are the shepherd girl that Moses married?

The queen of Egypt IS beautiful... as he told me.

My husband is not here.

Is this Moses' son?

Yes, this is our son.

What do you want of us?

You need have no fear of me.

I feared only his memory of you.

You have been able to erase it?

He has forgotten both of us.

You lost him when he went to seek his god.

I lost him when he found his god.

At least he left you a son to cherish.

I am here to save his son.

From what?

From Pharaoh's decree

that the first-born of Israel must die.

Die?

God of Abraham!

Don't let him do this! Not to the children!

A caravan for Midian awaits you and your son.

My chariot will take you to it.

I'm surprised you noticed me.

You didn't at the palace this morning.

Why? Were you afraid to look at me?

What do you want, Nefretiri?

You, Moses. Everything about us is coming to an end!

You will destroy Egypt or Egypt will destroy you.

I belong to you, Moses.

She's gone with your son to Midian.

Why did she leave?

She knew you'd try to save the other children before your own son.

From what?

Rameses is massing the Libyan axemen, the chariots, Sardinian swordsmen.

Why? Tell me why!

To destroy the first-born of Israel.

Oh, God!

My God! Out of his own mouth comes thy judgement!

But I have saved your son!

It is not my son who will die!

It is the first-born of Egypt! YOUR son, Nefretiri!

You would not dare strike Pharaoh's son!

In the hardness of his heart, Pharaoh brings death to his own son!

But he's MY son, Moses. You would not harm MY son?

I, myself, am nothing. God's power uses me to work his will.

You would not let him do this to me.

I saved YOUR son.

I cannot save yours.

Your god listens to you, Moses.

About midnight, the destroyer will come into the midst of Egypt

and all the first-born shall die,

from the first-born of Pharaoh

to the first-born of his servants.

When you were Prince of Egypt, you held me in your arms.

When you were a condemned slave,

I threw myself at your feet before the court of Pharaoh.

Because I loved you, Moses.

It is the Lord who executes judgement, Nefretiri.

Go back to your son.

Your love for me is stronger than the power of any god.

You will not kill my son.

Turn from thy fierce wrath, O Lord!

Death cometh to me

To set me free

Death cometh to me...

No, Lilia, death will not come to you.

Joshua!

Joshua, you risk your life in coming here.

- You are first-born. - So are you.

I bring lamb's blood to mark the doorposts and lintel...

that the Angel of Death may pass you by.

Joshua, it is enough that you have come to me.

I am outcast among our people.

Don't save me from death, Joshua, save me from life.

Tomorrow will bring a new world.

No! And no blood on this door!

Dathan, it will save her life! Moses has God's promise!

Moses has words, Pharaoh has spears.

Remember, Joshua, of her own free will she's mine.

He shall cover thee with his feathers

And under his wing shalt thou trust

"Though we stand in the shadow of death,

"the Lord is our God. The Lord is one."

"The Lord is one."

His truth shall be thy shield...

"Shield us through this night of terror, O King of the Universe."

Why is everyone afraid?

Why is this night different from all others?

Because this night the Lord will free us from the bondage of Egypt.

Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night

Pharaoh's soldiers!

Or worse!

Or from the arrow that flyeth by day

Bithiah!

In fear of your god they have set me free.

May a stranger enter?

There are no strangers among those who seek God's mercy.

My bearers?

All who thirst for freedom may come with us.

The darkness of death will pass over us tonight.

Tomorrow the light of freedom will shine upon us

as we go forth from Egypt.

I shall go with you, Moses.

- A princess of Egypt! - From the house of Pharaoh!

An idol-worshipper!

This woman drew me from the Nile

and set my feet upon the path of knowledge.

Mered, bring a chair for Pharaoh's daughter.

There is a great light shines from your face.

Perhaps some day I shall understand it.

He is God's messenger, Princess.

If it is not forbidden to look upon the breath of pestilence,

then see, for it is here.

Do not look, Eleazar.

Close the door, Joshua, and let death pass.

Will it pass, Moses? Will it pass?

That is God's promise, Elisheba.

"Blessed art thou, o Lord our God

"Who bringeth forth bread from the Earth."

Run! Run!

There shall no evil befall you...

or any plagues come near you.

A thousand shall fall at thy sight

Why do we eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs?

Faster! Take the other road!

The herbs remind us of the bitterness of captivity, Eleazar.

This is the bread of haste,

that you will remember this night

from generation to generation forever.

Give me back my baby!

- They are my people! - All are God's people.

Death is all around us!

But it passes those who have believed the Lord.

Always remember, Eleazar...

he passed over your house.

Are the captains of Egypt afraid of a night mist?

- The death cry is everywhere. - Some devil's curse! Look!

I've known battle for 30 years, Pharaoh,

but never fear till tonight.

Aide.

Have the captains join their men.

At the coming of dawn we will strike.

No first-born Hebrew shall live.

Let the Hebrews go, great one,

or we are all dead men.

He was your son?

My first-born.

There is no magic cure, no spell to use.

He is the first-born of Pharaoh.

We have no skill before this...pestilence.

My father.

My son.

Your own curse is on him.

- Where did you hear this? - From Moses.

I would not let his people go

because your serpent's tongue hardened my heart.

You only thought to keep Moses here.

You cared nothing for my throne...

or my son.

I asked Moses for his life.

The shadow of death is on his face.

No... He will not die.

Captain.

Take my fastest chariot. Bring Moses to me.

I will bring him, mighty Pharaoh.

He's my only son.

You have conquered, Moses.

The foot of a slave is on the neck of Egypt.

You were saved from the Nile to be a curse upon me.

Your shadow fell between me and my father,

between me and my fame,

between me and my queen.

Your shadow now fills all things with death.

Go out from among us, you and your people.

I set you free.

It is not by your word,

nor by my hand that we are free, Pharaoh.

The power of God has freed us.

Enough of your words!

Take your people, your cattle, your god and your pestilence.

Take what spoils from Egypt you will! But go!

O Lord God...

with a strong hand thou dost bring us out of bitter bondage.

Tomorrow we go forth a free nation.

For every man shall reap what he has sown

and bow no knee except in prayer.

We will go with our young and with our old,

with our sons and with our daughters...

With our flocks and with our herds will we go,

for I know that the Lord is great

and that our Lord is above all gods.

He's dead.

Soca, great lord of the lower world...

I, who have denied the gods of Egypt,

bow before you now.

Show that you have power above the god of Moses,

and restore the life he has taken from my son.

Guide back his soul across the lake of death

to the place of living men,

and I will raise a temple to you mightier than the pyramids.

Hear me, dread lord of darkness...

Arise, O Israel!

Behold the dawn of freedom!

And it came to pass, after the stifling night of terror,

came a day such as the world had never seen.

From east and west, from north and south,

they came with all they had, driving their flocks

and their herds and their camels before them.

By tens, by hundreds, by thousands,

unending streams of man and beast and burden,

and even very much cattle,

poured into the Avenue of Sphinxes.

Beneath the stone feet of the four colossal images of Rameses,

which their own sweat and blood and sinew

had hewn from solid rock,

a nation arose and freedom was born into the world.

Father, have you got Rebekka?

No, I haven't got Rebekka.

Here's the trough. Sling it on your shoulders.

This is a blessed day!

- Here's Rebekka! - Thank you!

- Can we take the cow? - We're moving to the gates.

Rachel, help me with this brick yoke.

Don't forget the oil for the baths!

Where are we going?

To some land flowing with milk and honey!

I've never tasted honey. Anybody know the way?

It's away from the whip! Freedom will wet your throats in the desert.

This is the governor's house! You cannot enter.

Out! All of you!

Why do soldiers come here? I put no blood on my door.

Then stone bleeds!

Your stonecutter did this to me!

All your gold cannot wipe that mark from your door...

or from my heart.

For that, you'll walk all the way to...

Where are we going? Do you know where we're going?

To hell, I hope!

Like Dathan, they did not know where they were going,

and cared no more than their flocks.

Now they used the brick yokes for a very different burden.

There went forth among them

planters of vineyards and sowers of seeds,

each hoping to sit under his own vine and fig tree.

Out of this glorious chaos,

it is Joshua who brings order and purpose.

Set the standard of each tribe before the people!

Levite in the centre, Judah to the right, Hephron left. Go!

Watch where you're going! Watch out for my geese!

Joseph was Jacob's son

Many colours was his coat...

Aaron and the elders are carrying a shrouded body, Grandfather!

They are the bones of Joseph, to rest in his own land.

Nubians, Grandfather!

- Here come treasure wagons! - Spoils of Egypt.

All who shared the toil will share this gold! Here, boy!

For the blind one!

A little golden calf, Grandfather, with horns!

An idol. For idol-worshippers!

There are the fire-bearers!

Plant your fires at night beside the standards,

that all may light their torches!

Eleazar, hang this on the wagon.

Now the cradle...

Joshua!

Joshua!

I have wagons for midwives and physicians.

Place them at 5,000 cubits...

I'll pay you back every lash you gave me, Dathan!

- Is this a day for hard feelings? - I've felt your whip!

Lilia is no slave, Dathan! You can carry your own carton.

Let HER ride!

So, now, my brother, we have NEW task-masters.

We serve no masters now!

Yes, but not for long.

- Here. Old woman. That's it. - Joshua!

Make way for the governor!

- You know who I am. - I know who you WERE.

Go and tell Rameses I'm coming back to my house.

That rabble may follow Moses into the desert today,

but when their eyes are seared red by the sun

and their cracked lips bleed with thirst,

when their stomachs cramp with hunger,

they will curse the name of Moses and his god.

Then I will lead them back to Pharaoh and the brick pits.

There are so many.

So many.

How shall I find thy road through the wilderness, Lord?

How shall I find water in the desert for this multitude?

Moses...the people are assembled.

Then let us go forth to the mountain of God,

that he may write his commandments in our minds and hearts forever.

We march, praising his mighty name!

- What is the word, Joshua? - Let the trumpets sound!

Hear, O Israel! Remember this day,

when the strong hand of the Lord leads you out of bondage!

The Lord is our God! The Lord is one!

The Lord is our God! The Lord is one!

Joshua!

400 years in bondage and TODAY he won't move!

The Lord is one! Praise to God...

Thank thee, O Lord...

My litter can carry him.

I am poured out like water,

my strength dried up into the dust...of death.

- We shall plant your fig tree! - Children shall eat of its fruit!

Do you hear that?

You have a strong new son!

And he brought forth the people with joy and gladness.

He bore them out of Egypt

as an eagle bears its young upon its wings.

But again... Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

How many more days and nights will you pray?

Does he hear you?

Dread Lord of Darkness,

are you not greater than the god of Moses?

I have raised my voice to you,

yet life has not come to the body of my son.

- Hear me! - He cannot hear you.

He's nothing but a piece of stone with the head of a bird.

He WILL hear me.

I am Egypt.

Egypt? You are nothing.

You let Moses kill my son. No god can bring him back.

What have you done to Moses? How did he die?

Did he cry for mercy when you tortured him?

Bring me to his body! I want to see it, Rameses! I want to see it!

This is my son.

He would have been Pharaoh.

He would have ruled the world.

Who mourns him now?

Not even you. All you can think of is Moses.

You will not see his body. I drove him out of Egypt.

I cannot fight the power of his god.

HIS god? The priests say that Pharaoh is a god,

but you are not a god, you are even less than a man.

Listen to me, Rameses,

you thought I was evil when I went to Moses, and you were right.

Shall I tell you what happened, Rameses?

He spurned me, like a strumpet in the street.

I, Nefretiri, Queen of Egypt!

All that you wanted from me he would not even take.

Do you hear laughter, Pharaoh?

Not the laughter of kings,

but the laughter of slaves on the desert!

Laughter?

Laughter?

My son, I shall build your tomb upon their crushed bodies!

If any escape, their seed shall be scattered and accursed forever!

My armour. War crown.

Laughter?

I will turn the laughter of these slaves into wails of torment!

They SHALL remember the name of Moses,

only that he died under my chariot wheels!

Kill him with your own hands.

Let the trumpet sound. Alert the watch towers.

Assemble all the chariots at the city gate.

I obey!

Ready my chariot.

I will bring you back your temple treasure!

Bring it back to me stained with his blood.

I will!

To mingle with your own!

Salute!

Hail!

Hail!

Remember your first-born!

- Death to the slaves! - Death to the slaves!

- Death to their god! - Death to their god!

Hail!

Forward!

Do you hear thunder? Over the sea?

No, it comes from the desert.

That's the thunder of horses!

Look! Pharaoh's chariot!

We're trapped against the sea! Caleb, warn the north tents!

Joshua?

That's Joshua's horn!

All men to the pass! Get horses, wagons! Form a barrier!

What's the alarm?

Pharaoh's chariot! Block the pass with carts!

Women and children, to the sea!

Bring shovels! Mallets!

Hear me! Hear me!

Can mallets stop arrows? Will your cart stop Pharaoh's chariots?

Women, do you want your men killed?

Moses! Pharaoh's chariots! I've ordered men to block the pass!

- We can't fight chariots! - Order the men to move back, Joshua.

Move back? Where? lnto the sea?

Into the hand of God.

Deliverer? He's delivered you to death!

Look! Look!

Blame Moses for this! Deliver him to Pharaoh!

Yes! Yes! Stone him!

The god of Moses is a poor general... to leave him no retreat.

Ten times you have seen the miracles of the Lord!

And still you have no faith!

He delivers you to death!

Stone him! Stone him!

Listen to Moses! He speaks God's will!

- They will stop for me! - A chariot knows no rank.

Was it because there where no graves in Egypt

that you took us to die in the wilderness?

Fear not!

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

- A pillar of fire! - The work of God!

Through it!

No, great one! You cannot breach the fire of God!

Gather your families and flocks. We must go with all speed.

Go where? To drown in the sea?

How long can the fire hold?

After this day you shall see his chariots no more!

No! You'll be dead under them!

The Lord of Hosts will do battle for us!

Behold his mighty hand!

The wind opens the sea!

God opens the sea with the blast of his nostrils!

- Lead them through the waters. - His will be done!

He opens the waters for them and he bars our way with fire.

Let us go. Men cannot fight a god!

Better to die in battle with a god, than live in shame.

Praise God and down into it!

God has delivered us!

- Help us! - Never mind the wheel!

Pull! Pull for your lives!

Is your life worth so much?

..Jacob's son Many colours was his coat...

God of Israel...

Save the bread if you can!

Bring Caleb to help with the wagons!

Moses! Stand on the rock where the people can see you and have hope!

Above us!

The fire dies!

Sound the pursuit!

Chariots, halt!

This is work for a butcher, not a Pharaoh.

Destroy them all.

But bring Moses to me alive.

Level spears! Forward!

Oh!

- Here! Take him! - Wait! Wait!

Grandfather, look, the horses are coming!

The chariots! Run! Run!

Better to serve than to die here!

Who shall withstand the power of God?

Thou didst blow with thy winds

and the sea covered them!

Who is like unto Thee, O Lord?

From everlasting to everlasting...Thou art God!

The Lord is one! The Lord is one!

Before you strike... show me his blood on your sword.

You couldn't even kill him.

His god...IS God.

And Moses led Israel from the Red Sea

into the wilderness of Sinai.

And they camped before the holy mountain.

And when the people saw

that Moses delayed to come down out of the mountain,

they gathered together.

Could anyone live on that summit for 40 days and nights?

- Yes! By the will of God! - Who knows the will of God?

Do you? Do l? Or you, Sephora?

His grieving wife.

She came back to find her husband.

But even she cannot hope he lives!

Moses went up into the forbidden ground to receive God's law!

But he's not returned!

We share your pain. We sympathise.

But will sympathy lead us to this land flowing with milk and honey?

Now we have no leader!

Moses WILL return...AAH!

Would a God who's shown you such wonders

Iet Moses die before his work is done?

His mother! So beautiful is the hope of a mother!

But there are other mothers among you!

What will become of your children?

- We must have faith! - Faith in what? You, Aaron?

Can you lead us to this land of promise?

- Do you know where it is? - Across the wilderness!

- Then who is to lead us? - YOU, Dathan!

Where could I bring you but Egypt?

- Where there is death? - No! Where there is food!

- Pharaoh would kill us. - Not with a god of Egypt before us!

- Make one, Aaron. - Aaron knows the art of the temple!

I will not!

He will not!

He would rather see our flesh rot in the wilderness.

You WILL make a god for us!

A god of gold! A golden calf!

Korah shall be the high priest!

Bring baskets! Buckets! Shawls! Anything you have!

Take off your earrings, your bracelets, your necklaces...

Aaron will make us a golden calf!

- The gold we took from Egypt! - There!

From the burning bush, O Lord,

you charged me to bring the people to this holy mountain,

to behold your glory and receive your law.

What have I left undone?

I am...

I am...

I am the Lord thy God.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

And they overlaid the image with pure gold.

And Aaron fashioned it and smoothed it with the hammer,

ready to be graven by cunning art and man's device.

And he fastened it with nails that it should not move.

And he that smote the anvil

did beat the molten gold into thin plates.

For they had gathered their treasure into the midst of the furnace,

and did blow the fire upon it to melt it.

And they adorned themselves in rich apparel and costly array,

veils of blue, purple and scarlet, and fine linen wrought in Egypt.

And the women tread grapes into new wine.

Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honour thy father and thy mother.

Thou shalt not kill.

And the people sinned a great sin,

for they had made them a god of gold.

And they bore him upon their shoulders and rejoiced,

saying, "This be our god, O Israel."

Are you mourners of Moses afraid to face the new god?

Then they were as children who have lost their faith.

They were perverse and crooked and rebellious against God.

They did eat the bread of wickedness,

and drank the wine of violence,

and did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

And the people cried,

"The graven image hath brought us joy,"

and they worshipped the golden calf and sacrificed unto it.

Here is your sacrifice!

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness

against thy neighbour.

Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbour's.

Written with the finger of God.

Go! Get thee down,

for thy people have corrupted themselves.

And the people rose up to play and did eat and drink.

They were as the children of fools

and cast off their clothes.

The wicked were like a troubled sea

whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

They sank from evil to evil and were viler than the earth.

And there was rioting and drunkenness,

for they had become servants of sin.

There was manifest all manner of ungodliness and works of the flesh.

Even adultery and lasciviousness,

uncleanness, idolatry and rioting,

vanity and wrath.

And they were filled with iniquity and vile affections.

And Aaron knew that he had brought them to shame.

Abiram! Korah! Bind the sacrifice with cord!

Even unto the horns of the altar!

The light of God shines from you, Moses.

Do not kneel to me, Joshua.

These tablets of stone...

The writing of God.

His Ten Commandments.

There is a noise of war in the camp.

It is not the noise of war.

It is the noise of song and revelry.

Woe unto thee, oh Israel.

You have sinned a great sin in the sight of God!

You are not worthy to receive these Ten Commandments.

We are gathered against you, Moses!

You take too much upon yourself!

We will not live by your commandments. We are free!

There is no freedom without the law.

Whose law? Yours?

Did you carve the tablets to become a prince over us?

Who is on the Lord's side... Iet him come to me!

I am!

- You have cursed us. - These people made me.

He showed you no milk and honey! I show you a god of gold!

Come with me! Follow me!

Blasphemers! ldolaters!

For this you shall drink bitter waters!

God has set before you this day

his laws of life and good

and death and evil.

Those who will not live by the law...

shall die by the law!

And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel.

And to prove whether they would keep his commandments or no,

he made them wander in the wilderness 40 years,

until the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord

was consumed.

But Moses' eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

And he went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountains,

and the Lord showed him all the land

that was beyond the river Jordan.

The Lord was angry with me

because I disobeyed him by the waters of strife.

And he said unto me, "Behold the new land with thine eyes.

"Thou shalt not cross over this river Jordan."

Then I shall stay.

I am called by the Lord, Sephora. I go alone.

Look, Moses.

The people have come to the river Jordan.

In the Ark they carry the law you brought them.

You taught them not to live by bread alone.

You are God's torch, that lights the way to freedom.

I love you.

Joshua...

Joshua, I charge you and strengthen you,

for you shall go over Jordan to lead the people.

As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.

Mered, give me the books.

Eleazar...set these five books in the Ark of the Covenant,

by the tablets of the Ten Commandments,

which the Lord restored unto us.

Go. Proclaim liberty throughout all the lands,

unto all the inhabitants thereof.